


The Anna James Adventures: Grumpy Gravity

by calgarry



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-18
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-04-04 23:49:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4157598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calgarry/pseuds/calgarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The 3rd in a series about Anna James, the Doctor’s newest companion. Set during the Clara/Eleven era, with a younger companion and more mature themes. This story:</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

> This is the third instalment in the story of Anna James, the Doctor’s other companion. I wrote the first two stories a while ago, and to be honest, they are far from my best work. I could go through and re-write them, but I am lazy, so I will give you the option of reading them yourself or simply reading a recap of what happened in them, which can be found below. If you already know Anna’s story, feel free to go onto the next chapter, where this story begins. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy it!

Anna James grew up in Nottingham with an overprotective, controlling mother, and no father to speak of. One day when she was about five years old, she met a strange man at a playground, and he came back to visit her that night in his magical box. He kept coming back to visit her every night, and each time he would tell her stories of his adventures around the universe. He always said that when she was old enough, she could go on the adventures with him.

Then one night, the Doctor didn’t come to see her. Anna waited up all night, but he didn’t come that night, or the next night, or the night after that. He didn’t come back, in fact, until about fourteen years later, when Anna was living in a mental institution that her mother had put her in. The reason is as yet unknown, but she implied that it was because of her stories about the Doctor.

So he came back to visit her in the mental institution, and he took her away for a trip around the universe. They went to have breakfast at the Planet of the Coffee Shops (the number one place for the discerning galactic traveller), but found it destroyed by a massive meteor attack. They went to investigate, and this is where it gets slightly complicated – it was destroyed by the Master. This is between him being Professor Yana and Harold Saxon – there is an explanation for this later on.

The Doctor and Anna found that the Master had managed to set up a crude Archangel Network around the planet, and brainwashed all the residents into thinking that Anna and the Doctor had destroyed their planet, as well as making him the supreme leader. There was a confrontation, and the Master took Anna away. The Doctor went to get River to help him find Anna, but when they got back to the Planet of the Coffee Shops, it was some time later and they found that Anna was now working with the Master, having been brainwashed by him. She thinks she has been there for three years, when it has really only been three months. Also, during that time she may or may not have been abused by him. See, I told you it was complicated.

River and the Doctor are sentenced to death, but manage to convince Anna that the Master is evil. She hatches a plan with the natives of the planet to overthrow the Master, and they do so with seconds to spare before the Doctor and River are executed. The Doctor wipes the Master’s memory, and they deposit him on Earth to become Harold Saxon. Oh, and Anna’s former maid, Sraf, becomes the leader of the Planet of the Coffee Shops.

Anna goes back to the mental institution, and the Doctor and River promise to visit her again the next Wednesday. And that is where the two previous stories end, and this one begins. Read on, Macduff!


	2. Nearly midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the beginning of the actual story. More to be posted soon!

It was a Wednesday. The inhabitants and staff of the Nottingham Royal Mental Institution were going about their daily business, as they would any other day. All except one young woman, who sat silently on her bed, waiting.

Anna James was staring at the wall opposite her bed, motionless. The staff ignored her as a rule, so she was not disturbed. They had bigger fish to fry, such as the blue-haired man who was intent upon climbing out his (sealed) window.

No, nobody ever bothered with Anna, which suited her just fine. It gave her time to remember her latest adventure with the Doctor, a man who may or may not have existed.

She smiled, thinking about the Land of the Coffee Shops. She remembered the loyal Sraf, who almost gave her life for Anna. She remembered the Master, the psychopathic Time Lord who took over the planet, as well as her. She smiled at the thought of him falling into the ocean after having his memory wiped.

There was a knock on the door, and Anna stood up, heart racing. “Yes?” she said in a shaky voice.

Her heart plummeted when she heard the familiar voice of an orderly. “Dinner’s up,” he said kindly, entering the room with a tray.

“Thank you, James,” she managed to say.

He deposited the tray in the room and backed away. “Are you alright?” he said, noticing her disappointed look.

Anna forced her face into a smile. “Fine. Thank you.”

“Okay then.” James left Anna alone with her meal and her thoughts.

She picked at her food, trying not to think about the fact that he wasn’t there yet. _He’s coming, Anna,_ she told herself.

Another voice spoke, unbidden, inside her head. **_Oh, shut up._**

_Now I’m fighting with myself again. Great._

**_Are you fighting with yourself, or are you imagining it?_ **

_Of course I’m not imagining it._

**_Are you sure?_ **

“Shut up!” she yelled, curling up on her bed into her default position, eyes squeezed tightly shut, arms over her head. Then she heard footsteps outside, and quickly sat up, picking up some food and taking a bite.

James popped his head in. “Is everything alright?”

Anna smiled at him inquisitively. “Fine. Why do you ask?”

“No reason…” He backed out again slowly, frowning as he did so.

As soon as he was out of sight, the smile vanished from Anna’s face. The food dropped from her hand to the tray on her lap. _Why aren’t you here, Doctor?_

* * *

 

Time passed. Anna lay on her bed, wide awake, staring at the ceiling. It was late. In her heart, she knew it was too late. He wasn’t coming.

She felt angry, more than anything else. Angry at the Doctor for not coming, angry at River for not forcing him as she had promised. Angry at herself, for believing in him.

Anna felt sure it must be after midnight. She turned over and lay on her side, closing her eyes to get some sleep.

No sooner had she done that than there was a high-pitched creaking noise, similar to the TARDIS door opening. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, trying to force the illusion away.

There were whispering voices. Anna caught a few words.

“Do you think she’s awake?”

“What time is it?”

There was another creak, this time her bedsprings groaning under a sudden weight. Someone had sat down at the end of her bed.

She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, then a woman’s voice spoke. “Anna? Anna, sweetie, are you awake?” That was River.

Anna’s eyes shot open, and she spun around, eyes flashing. “Yes, I’m awake!” she snapped. “Why wouldn’t I be, after I stayed up all night waiting for you?” She turned her angry gaze on the Doctor, who sat on the end of her bed, wide-eyed.

Anna’s voice broke. “You said…you said you would be here…” Her shoulders began to shake, and she was sobbing into River’s shoulder, she couldn’t help it.

River patted her gently on the back. “There, there.” She glanced at her watch, specifically designed to echo the local time no matter where in the galaxy she was.

River pulled Anna back to look at her. “Besides,” she said, showing her the watch, “we’ve still got five minutes until midnight.”

Anna frowned. “What?”

The Doctor spoke for the first time, having kept quiet through Anna’s emotional spiel. “You must have thought it was later than it actually was. Don’t worry, humans do it all the time.”

“So you didn’t break your promise?” Anna asked River plaintively.

“Of course not,” she smiled at the younger woman. “However, if we don’t go in the next five minutes, it’ll be Thursday, and we can’t have that, can we?”

Anna wiped her face furiously and nodded. She gave a small smile. “Can we go now, then?”

The Doctor jumped up from the bed and practically leaped towards the TARDIS, standing just inside the door. If anyone had tried to open the door from other corridor, they would have hit the TARDIS instead.

River and Anna followed him into the time machine, River’s arm still around Anna’s shoulders. This time, Anna barely felt the small jolt as she went through the door.

She looked up once again at the giant centre console, the tube on top rhythmically pulsating up and down. She looked at it, and frowned.

“Doctor,” Anna said. “Wasn’t there supposed to be a noise when the TARDIS materialised in my room? Sort of a…” she made a noise akin to the _vworp, vworp_ of the TARDIS.

River chuckled and walked away from Anna, over to the other side of the console. “It normally makes that noise, but only because _he_ leaves the brakes on,” she told Anna, jerking her head towards the Doctor.

“I like that noise!” the Doctor said indignantly.

River rolled her eyes and spoke as if to a young child. “Well, if it matters so much to you…” She flipped a switch, and the noise began to sound in time with the centre tube.

Anna giggled. “You two are like children.”

“We’re married,” River explained.

“Ah, that makes sense,” Anna nodded.

Anna felt the TARDIS begin to move. “Where are we going?” she asked.

“Just a short flight,” the Doctor said. The _vworp, vworp_ sound stopped, and the Doctor walked over and threw the door open.

Anna followed him, and stared. “Wow,” she said.

They were flying billions of miles above the Earth, so far away that Anna could see the planet slowly turning. There were swirls of white cloud partially obscuring the dull green and blue countries and oceans.

“It’s so…small,” Anna said in wonder. “I mean, most humans, Earth is all they’ve ever known, and it’s huge. But when you see it, like this, with all of space around it…it’s tiny. _We’re_ tiny.”

She turned away from the door and the others. “That’s what the Master used to say. All the time. He’d talk about how small humans were.”

River laid a hand on Anna’s shoulder, and she jumped slightly – she hadn’t noticed River coming up behind her.

“But you know that’s not true,” River said quietly. “You know what makes a person great, and it isn’t how important they are in the scheme of things.”

After a moment, Anna nodded. She turned around and attempted a smile. “So, where are we going today?” she asked, as brightly as she could manage.

“Well,” the Doctor said, “last time we went to another planet, and look how that turned out.” Anna snorted quietly. “So, this time, how about Earth in a different time period?”

Anna’s eyes lit up. “Forwards or backwards in time?” she asked quickly.

“Whichever you like,” River said kindly. “When do you want to go to?”

She thought about it, then looked up helplessly. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I don’t know much about history. It was my worst subject at school.”

“Well then, I suppose we’re going to have to improvise,” the Doctor said, pretending to be disappointed with Anna. Then he grinned and leaped towards the console, beginning to push buttons and pull levers. “Random mode, activate!” he yelled with a childlike expression of joy.

River came up behind her husband and helped him, motioning for Anna to hold onto a long purple lever. “Keep that still,” she instructed, and Anna did without question.

A few moments later, the time rotor began to pulse up and down, making a _vworp, vworp_ noise. River shot a sharp look at the Doctor, who protested, “But I like that noise!” She rolled her eyes and pressed a button firmly, making the whole TARDIS jolt violently. Anna was only barely able to hold on to the purple lever.

The Doctor held his hands up in surrender. “Alright, you win.” he grumbled, pressing a button and quieting the time rotor. Anna looked on as they continued to bicker. It was a wonder they ever went anywhere, she thought, what with those two fighting like children.

The TARDIS came to a shuddering stop shortly afterwards, and the Doctor danced across the metal bridge to the door. It squeaked open, and he poked his head out. “Excellent!” he said, striding out into wherever it was they were. River went to follow him, but noticed that Anna was still standing next to the console, staring into the time rotor. She went over to Anna. “Are you all right?”

Anna jumped, and turned to look at River. “I’m fine.” She smiled, and ran to the door, leaving River to follow behind concernedly.


End file.
